Of Wizard Schools And Demons
by deathofaraven
Summary: Rachel gets a mysterious letter and sets off to a magical school. But what if she's stumbled onto a much bigger mystery than who's been lying about what happened to their homework? Set after Pale Demon. Second Gen fic.


**AN:** Hi, everyone! ^^ Welcome to my first Hollows fic! (Well, it's a crossover...but...I'm sticking to the Hollows side more...) I'm honestly worried I'm OOC with this fic. :S So I'd appreciate all the help and concrit you guys can give! :) This fic takes place after Pale Demon and takes place during the Harry Potter Second Gen...just to clear up any timeline issues. I hope you guys enjoy it. Please read and review.

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize, I don't own...which sucks, to be honest. I do own the plot though. You steal my plot, I set hellhounds after you, got it?

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Letter<strong>

Rachel felt calm as she stepped into the sanctuary. The soft click of her boots and the rustle of grocery bags reverberated quietly through the air to echo back at her ten times louder than it had been. Rachel smiled to herself as she took in the room. It was an odd mix of professional and comfortable that seemed to represent her and her partner's lives. It reminded her that she was, in fact, home. She shrugged off her new little red leather jacket and lay it over the back of a chair, having the odd feeling she was going to need it later. She nearly called out to Ivy to let her know she was home, before remembering that she'd only barely given a pair of would be assassins the slip on the way home. Plus, she reasoned, starting for the kitchen, Ivy probably already knew she was home.

The house was quiet as Rachel entered her kitchen. She loved her kitchen with its two stoves, island, and her mom's old refrigerator. Ivy had settled in on her side of the kitchen table, mapping out something Rachel guessed was for a run. She had to admit, Ivy looked good in her work leathers with a pair of fluffy socks instead of boots.

"Witches?" Ivy asked by way of greeting as Rachel set the groceries and her keys on the counter and started rummaging through the plastic bags.

Rachel nodded. When she straightened up, she had a handful of pizza toppings in her arm and she began the risky task of working open the fridge door. Risky because she had a chance of dropping toppings, of course. It wasn't like she could ask Bis, the gargoyle currently lurking atop the refrigerator, to help her hold things.

"How many?" Ivy added, but Rachel heard the real question: _Should we get ready for an attack?_

"Three," the witch said, putting things away wherever they fit. She really needed to clean out the fridge. "I don't think they followed me back."

The subject was dropped and the clock on the wall struck four pm as Rachel went to get a couple more items, knowing they were a few seconds away from pixy chaos. Sure enough, Rachel had just closed the fridge door as a flurry of pixies dove into the room in a nightmarish whirl of pastel silk and teeth-aching shrieks.

"Hey, Rache," Jenks greeted before going off to fly in circles around Ivy's head.

The sounds of Ivy trying to shoo Jenks without hurting him and Jenks trying to annoy Ivy as much as possible lifted Rachel's spirit as she made a cup of coffee and she put the thought of assassins out of her mind. She was home. It was nice.

"So, how was Trent?" Ivy asked when she finally got Jenks to stop buzzing around her head.

Rachel wasn't fooled by the nonchalance. She'd gone to Trent's to visit Lucy and she'd come away with a wonderful memory of Trent getting bopped right on the head with a hard plastic toy…and another job offer, but there was something odd about the looks Ivy and Jenks kept exchanging when they thought she wasn't looking. However, she was halfway through a mouthful of coffee, so she settled on answering with an odd shrug.

"Yeah, Rache," Jenks piped up, grinning mischievously. "Trent still trying to get you to whore yourself out to him?"

Rachel choked on her coffee, making hot liquid shoot up her nose and down the passageway to her lungs. It was hot enough to feel like it burnt her throat and she missed Ivy's rebuke. Jenks was laughing like it had been a great joke; Rachel didn't quite think so. For some odd, unknown reason it had brought up memories of her and Trent's kiss…which was just weird and something she didn't care to think about. Despite the fact that the moment she was alone, the thought of it made her smile and blush like a schoolgirl.

"It's Trent," Rachel reminded them once she'd calmed down. "He can't see me and not ask. It would be…against his make up to not ask for me to work with him."

Jenks hiccupped, his laughter starting to subside finally. Bis shifted his wings from his lurking spot atop the fridge, scattering the pixy children who had been imitating him. Their excited, mischief-warning shrieks hurt Rachel's ears.

Ivy capped her marker and tossed it back into its cup. "What-"

_**Thunk!**_

Everyone except Bis froze. The young gargoyle hopped down from the fridge and landed lightly, wings spread wide so he would float down instead of just plain falling. All eyes were on the backdoor. It sounded oddly like something had hit the window…like something had been thrown at it or…maybe crashed into it….

Rachel started for the door in the same second Ivy got to her feet.

"Rachel," Ivy started, sounding wary. She didn't need to finish the sentence.

The red haired witch looked back at the amulets attached to her keys on the counter. Both the lethal magic and the heavy magic detectors were a nice, safe green. Of course, it could be something that wasn't magic, but the chances were if it were, say a bomb, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway. _I'm going to risk it,_ Rachel decided, continuing to the door.

Jenks landed on her shoulder, his wings buzzing at an ultrasonic speed.

"Right behind ya, Rache," he said, the humor gone from his voice and a seriousness that meant it was time for work falling into place.

Instantly she felt a bit better. If Jenks was with her, everything would be okay. Rachel opened the door.

If she was honest, it was a bit of a let down when nothing was there. No…that wasn't quite true. There _was_ something on the patio. A very ruffled owl standing on top of what looked like an envelope. There was a long moment of confusion. A couple of Jenks's kids flew around the owl's head in a swirl of pastel silk. The owl didn't spare them even a glance, staring straight at Rachel.

"No fairy freakin' way," Jenks said fluttering off Rachel's shoulder to shoo his kids away and fly in annoying circles around the owl. Still, the owl stared at Rachel.

"Did your owls come back, Ivy?" Rachel asked, puzzled.

"Hey, Rache, I think it's got somethin' for you," Jenks said as Ivy murmured a negative.

Rachel crept forward, reaching for the envelope. The owl stayed perfectly still until Rachel's fingers brushed the parchment, then it burst into flight, alighting to the kitchen table, where it resumed its stillness act. Rachel picked up the envelope. She didn't open it, though.

When the door was safely closed and Jenks had resumed his perch on her shoulder, Rachel rechecked her amulets. The lethal spell amulet was still a nice green, but the heavy magic amulet was glowing a soft red.

"Should I open it?" she mused, honestly not sure what to do. A white spell could be just as dangerous as a dark one, and she wouldn't put it past someone to send her a magical 'letter bomb'.

"Who is it addressed to?" Ivy asked, slinking toward them.

Rachel looked down to check and stopped. "Uh…."

She turned the letter around so Ivy could read it.

_Ms. Rachel M. Morgan_

_The Kitchen_

_1597 Oakstaff Drive_

_The Hollows_

"There's no return address," Ivy observed, taking the letter from Rachel to look at the wax seal on the back. She didn't even mention the creepiness of the letter writer knowing exactly what room they were in.

"Don't open it, Rache," Jenks said suddenly, wings blurring bright red as he flew around the letter.

Rachel couldn't help but be alarmed at that. "Does it smell like sulfur?"

"No," Jenks admitted. "They know where we live. They're watching us. Don't open it."

Ivy raised an eyebrow. "They could have guessed, Jenks. Rachel spends a lot of her time here."

It was the truth, and Rachel nearly flushed, realizing how that sounded.

Ivy frowned slightly, looking back down at the seal. A badger, lion, eagle, and snake were grouped around a capital _H_ in the shiny, red wax. "This seal looks familiar. I think you should open it, Rachel."

Rachel hesitated, not sure who to listen to. Both of them were right so often, it was difficult to choose. In the end, she went with her gut. She took the letter from Ivy and broke the seal. The owl's eyes never strayed from them the entire time, despite Bis now crawling on the ceiling over its head.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Rachel read aloud, even more confused than before. "Headmistress: Professor Minerva McGonagall. Dear Ms. Morgan, Several months ago we found ourselves without a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and-"

Rachel dropped the letter. Her eyes were wide, looking surprised, alarmed, and bewildered all at once.

"Rache?" Jenks asked, fretting as Ivy retrieved the letter. "What's wrong? Tink's a Disney whore, Ivy, something's wrong!"

Ivy, however, was also reading the letter.

"…we send this request to you in hopes that-" she also stopped, staring at Rachel in a slightly more dignified manner than the witch in question.

To satisfy the still spazzing pixy, Ivy put the letter on the table. Bis's ears twitched in curiosity as Jenks landed on top of it and began to read:

"Hogwarts School _of_ Witchcraft _and_ Wizardry

Headmistress: Professor Minerva McGonagall

Dear Ms. Morgan,

Several months ago, we found ourselves without a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and, upon reviewing your credentials and following up several queries about your past dealings, we send this request to you in hopes that you will consent to becoming the newest member of our staff."

Jenks looked up at Rachel, green eyes huge. "They want _you_ to be a professor?"

Rachel stood up straighter, looking indignant at the way both of her friends were acting. Okay, so being a teacher wasn't really her thing. Hell, being a student was difficult enough, as all her lessons with the demon Algaliarept had proven again and again. She forcefully turned her thoughts away from Al, and back to the matter at hand.

When it came down to it…she was sure she was going to be a bad teacher. _Very_ bad.

"There's more," Ivy pointed out, looking like she wanted to laugh.

Giving her friends a huffy look, Rachel picked up the letter, causing Jenks to have to fly to avoid falling, and picked up where Jenks had left off:

"We of Hogwarts have no concerns for the allegations of the press nor the dealings of the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards. No one will harm you here and we will guarantee your protection for the duration of your stay with us should you choose to accept. If you decide to join us, as a gesture of good faith, I would like to ask that you meet with me at a location of your choosing to discuss your employment.

Should you accept, term will begin September first. We await your owl by no later than August tenth.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress."

There was a moment of silence as Rachel silently reread the letter to herself. It almost felt like a bribe. Protection in return for teaching. Her mind wandered over the guys who had attempted to kill her just this afternoon. To get away from that and the prosecution for just a while…it was tempting. Tempting like a wish, and those always came back to bite you in the ass.

"They're asking us to teach?" Jenks repeated, sounding confused.

"No," Ivy said, walking back over to her map. "They're asking _Rachel_ to teach." _As if we wouldn't go with her._ The unspoken words seemed to hang in the air, making Rachel feel both awkward and relieved. Why did it feel like Ivy already had her taking the job?

"Still…Tink's titties, Ivy, asking Rache to baby-sit a bunch of lunkers is just crazy."

Rachel agreed. "Thanks, Jenks…."

"She'd kill 'em," Jenks added brightly.

"_Thanks_, Jenks," Rachel reiterated sourly, not appreciating that. It made her feel _so_ much better.

The owl continued to watch them with an intentness that was starting to get creepy.

"Let's think about this," Ivy said quietly.

"There's nothing to think about," Jenks insisted. "We're not going to some moss wipe's school to teach a bunch of lunkers."

"I think Ivy's right," Rachel replied. Jenks nearly fell out of the air. "We can just talk to this McGonagall woman and decide then. I can't hide here forever."

"So you'd rather hide in a school?" Jenks muttered so quietly Rachel wasn't sure if she'd heard him properly. He hovered in front of Rachel's face, hands on his hips in a good imitation of Peter Pan. "Fine," he acquiesced. "Where are we going to meet her, anyway?"

"Junior's," Rachel and Ivy said together, both of them knowing it was the best place to go. No one would attack them with a Headmistress with them…right?

"There's just one more thing," Rachel added, staring at the letter again. "How exactly do we send an owl?"


End file.
